Falling Out of Place
by Doctor Agon
Summary: An (hopefully) atypical Marauders time-travel fanfiction. Harry was just preparing to spend the evening with Ginny, (A.K.A Beautiful Wife) when he suddenly finds himself in his fifteen year old body in the middle of muggle London, 1975. What will the Marauders do with Harry Faye, the new boy who can't even seem to look up from his research long enough to eat, let alone prank?
1. Prologue, I guess?

Disclaimer: Not mine.

BTW - I'm pants at figuring out ratings and things, so if it should change let me know.

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"Oh God . . . Oh _God, _ohgodohgodoh-" Harry clenched his teeth to stop himself from rambling on. He was in the middle of muggle London _without his sodding wand _from what he could tell, and he was beginning to attract some stares. And besides, even in the muggle world you never knew who was watching. His recent increase in notoriety and popularity had left the paparazzi slobbering madly over any snippet of information they could gleam about his existence since his defeat of Voldemort. And now, here he was, trapped in a crowd in the middle of muggle London without any sort of cover and _without his sodding wand_ because who in Merlin's name _doesn't _set down their wand when preparing to shag their extremely attractive young wife?

Actually, why was he here, in the middle of muggle London _without his sodding wand_ when he should for all intents and purposes be well into the process of shagging Aforementioned Beautiful Wife? He had, of course (like all young men) anticipated some trouble while planning to shag Aforementioned Beautiful Wife, not the least of which was his young son who, in addition to shoving things up his nose that really oughtn't be there in the first place, had taken to climbing into bed with them - which can really put a damper on the whole shagging business.

Harry was distracted from his contemplations when he noticed his pants slipping. Which was odd, considering he had specifically donned the tight jeans Aforementioned Beautiful Wife had always found particularly irresistible, in an attempt to woo her. Harry had never really liked them himself, but honestly, what Aforementioned Beautiful Wife wants, Aforementioned Beautiful Wife gets. Maybe he should start calling her A.B. Wife for short.

Harry giggled as he hoisted his pants and realized he was slightly hysterical. He clapped a hand over his mouth and glanced around. He ducked into an alleyway, muttered a temporary hair-changing spell, one he had performed countless times and could easily do wandless. His hair was now a very light mousy brown, soft and straight and just a little too long.

He realized he fortunately had some muggle money in his pocket and ducked into a second-hand clothing store, giving the old man behind the counter a nod and a grin (and if it was a little manic, well the old man was polite enough not to mention it).

Harry was just sifting through the racks of sweaters when he caught sight of himself in the mirror. His fifteen-year-old self. Pale, skinny, gaunt - the death of Sirius had weighed heavily on him that summer, the death of Cedric the year before. He glanced at the back of his hand; the once faded scars were now fresh and livid against his stark white flesh, raw and pink, _I must not tell lies_. His hands shook as he paid for the dingy grey hooded sweater he pulled off the rack. The man gave him a dark look, and Harry vaguely noted that the man probably thought he was on drugs or something.

Once back out on the street, Harry , his mind reeling, bought a newspaper. He had to know - had he gone back to his fifth year? Had he been de-aged? _Was he crazy?_

He glanced at the headlines - something about tennis, which didn't really help - before looking to the date. Sunday, May 14th. _Strange, I'd thought it was a Saturday . . ._ Harry glanced over some of the articles. Nothing really caught his attention. He nodded to the vendor and made his way back out into the street. He had the mother of all migraines building in his head. He made his way to the nearest underground, keeping his hood pulled low over his face and keeping his eyes to his feet.

Once on the train, he pulled out his muggle newspaper and scanned it, not really reading but just picking up key words and phrases. A name in one of the articles triggered something . . . something from muggle school, from the Dursleys, way back when. He flipped to the front and glanced at the headlines a second time. Sunday, May 14th. 1975.

Harry's hands began shaking again. He half-crumpled the paper as he tried to take in deep, calming breaths. They came out more like wheezes, and the old woman sitting beside him gave him a cautious pat and a worried smile. He nodded to her, still trying to not pass out, and suddenly it was very hot on the train, and he pulled off the sweater, half-desparate to get some fresh air.

He grasped the knees of his now-loose jeans, bunching the fabric in his fists as he heaved deep breaths that felt as i they were suffocating him, and the woman patted him on the back with concern. Harry wasn't really too certain on the details from there on out, but by the end of that day, Clara Faye had taken pity on the poor homeless boy she met on the train, and Harry Potter had found a place to stay in 1975.

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Feel free to be a nitpicky arse and point out anything from irritating inconsistenties, things that are difficult to understand, or any other mistakes, up to and including illogical logic and shitty formatting.

Love, MC^2


	2. That would make this Ch1

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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Sirius Black cringed as he jolted his shoulder sitting down at the Gryffindor table in the great hall. He glanced at James, worried he'd been caught, but his best friend was too busy scanning the hall for his Lily love. Sirius relaxed onto the bench. He was glad to be back, away from that hell-hole the rest of his 'family' called home.

As the sorting dragged on . . . and on . . . and on . . . Sirius watched a few fourth years down the row. Hm . . . young Sarah'd filled out over the summer. That might be worth suffering through a few trips to Madam Puddifoot's. A little further down sat a scrawny kid Sirius didn't recognize, hunched over a huge old dusty tome. His pale skin and light brown hair made Sirius glance back to make sure Remus was still 15 and sitting across from him at the table. He was, and creepily, had his own tawny head bent over a book in a similar position to the other kid.

Sirius tapped his shoulder and nodded to the other kid sitting farther down the table, snickering. Remus stared openly for a few moments, then frowned at Sirius. He tried to turn back to his book, but sent a quick glance at the kid before tucking his book back into his pocket and engaging Peter in whispered conversation.

Sirius smirked and smacked James on the shoulder, gesturing to the kid. "It's Remus's mini-me." James snorted and Remus rolled his eyes.

The last first-year was finally sorted and Dumbledore took the podium. Sirius was only vaguely paying attention . . . something about zonko's products, and fizzing whizbees, or maybe the forbidden forest . . . yeah, that sounded right. And then:

". . . pleasure to introduce Mr Harry Faye, our new fifth year Gryffindor." The marauders exchanged a dark look before whipping their heads back and forth, trying to catch a glimpse of their new roommate. To their surprise, the Remus mini-me looked up, blinking dazedly behind rectangular wire-rimmed glasses before standing and giving a little wave. He faltered after a moment, then sat back down and returned to his book.

"Well that's . . ." James started before trailing off uncertainly.

"Disappointing?" Sirius supplied. Remus flicked a potato at him.

"Don't be like that, I'm sure he's fine!" he snapped, a somewhat defensively. Having been shy himself before the marauders, Remus felt a bit protective of the new boy.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "He may be your mini-me, Remus, but that doesn't mean you -" He suddenly cut off, turning very pale.

"What's the matter?"

"Remus - your _furry little problem?_" Remus paled as well at this.

"We're screwed, aren't we?"

* * *

They watched the new kid furtively as they ate dinner. He kept reading through the whole meal, eating a chunk of bread by pulling out the soft center, eating it whole, then absentmindedly crumbling the crust to tiny bits and thoroughly chewing each minuscule piece that made it into his mouth. He only got about half of it down before it disappeared from under his searching fingers and was replaced with a bowl of pudding. He looked up at that, examining his chocolate covered fingers with confusion for a moment before glancing around and realizing what had happened. His only further reaction was to pick up a spoon and scoop up a mouthful, before leaning forward and squinting at something in his book, letting the spoon tilt and dump it's cargo onto the table.

"No wonder he's so tiny, if he can't even put down the book long enough to eat!" James said, somewhat amazed that anyone could be so distracted that they would forget to eat, by a _book_ nonetheless.

"You know, I really don't think we have to worry about him figuring out your problem Moony," Sirius commented dryly as they observed young Mr Faye misdirect the spoon, poking himself in the cheek, then the nose before it finally made its way into his mouth, not once taking his eyes off the page before him.

"You know I think you may be right," Remus concurred.

"I feel like I should be taking offense at the amount of astonishment evident in your tone just now." Sirius said, finally tearing his eyes away from the new kid to turn and glare at Remus.

"Oh, look, he's given up on the pudding," James exclaimed with a tone reminiscent of that used when observing rarely seen wild animals. Sirius glanced back down the table and saw that it was true; the new kid had abandoned the pudding and had lifted himself out of his seat somewhat in order to search the dishes in front of him. He spotted a treacle tart and pulled it towards him, then proceeded to eat it in nearly the same infuriatingly slow way as the bread, breaking off chunks with his fingers and then nibbling on them for all of eternity. Sirius and James groaned in unison at this.

"It's never going to end, is it?" Sirius moaned. He found the agonizingly slow process with which the new kid ate extremely frustrating for some reason.

The rest of the meal carried on in much the same way, until Dumbledore dismissed them from the table. Remus excused himself to go show the first-years to the common room (the first of many new duties he had acquired along with his new title of prefect). Sirius jumped up off the bench, intent on catching up to the new kid, who had disappeared into the crowd the moment everyone stood, ancient tome and all.

"Hey, wait up!" James called as he and Peter scrambled after him. Sirius gasped in pain as his shoulder was jostled again by a group of third years he was trying to bypass, and fell back before catching a second glance of the fluffy brown head.

"What was all that about?" Peter panted as he and James caught up to Sirius, who was still trying to suppress a grimace at the pain in his shoulder.

"The new kid . . ." he trailed off uncertainly. Now that he thought on it, he wasn't really sure what his intentions had been in the first place. James laughed.

"Now now, there'll be plenty of time to grill him later. We do share a room with him, after all." James made a face at his last statement, as if he had only just remembered the fact that they now had to deal with someone else, someone who hadn't been there the past four years, who hadn't discovered Remus's secret, who hadn't spent years researching how to become animagi.

They all fell silent in contemplation. No one said anything else until they reached the common room, where Remus was waiting for them.

"Hey," he called over the heads of the flood of people still pouring into the common room from the feast when he spotted the three come in through the portrait hole.

"Where's the new kid?" he asked, glancing around as if they had hidden him somewhere.

Sirius shrugged. "I dunno, somewhere. We lost sight of him after the feast."

Remus blanched at this, before turning to glare at them furiously. "He's new! There's no way that he's going to find the common room alone, especially if he didn't follow the rest of the house here after the feast! Nearly everyone's back by now, he's probably just wandering around like an idiot!"

"Hey, hey! It's fine, we'll just go find him now, right Sirius, Peter?" James said placatingly, trying to soothe Remus's frazzled nerves. Remus had always been one to look out for the younger years, and being made a prefect had apparently only served to increase his feelings of responsibility towards the rest of the house.

Sirius threw him an incredulous look but quickly conceded. "Er, yeah, sure . . . I mean, we'll go right now," he quickly added as he met Remus's glare. He bustled around Remus, dragging James behind him as he went up to their dorm to retrieve the invisibility cloak from James's trunk. Remus frowned at them as they came back through the common room and went back out the portrait hole.

"Be back before curfew! If you can't find him we'll go to McGonagall." He called after them.

"We'll find him!" Sirius called back confidently. "I mean, honestly," Sirius huffed at James once the portrait swung back into place behind them. "How hard could it be to find one new kid who doesn't even know his way around the castle?"

Famous last words.

* * *

I do believe this has been completely half-assed. I apologize. I finished it very late in the night, or perhaps very early in the morning. This entire work is a bit of a free-for-all, plot-wise (feel free to make suggestions). I'm purposefully making Harry a major space-cadet, if you need me to explain why I can. I might try and fix any glaring errors when I've had more sleep. The POV will always be third person, but might switch which person it's following. Again, anything from last chapter stands. Just notify me and I'll try to fix it.

Love, MC^2


	3. Sirius creeps on sleeping Harry

Disclaimer: Not mine

- I apologise for the shortness of the chapters, but considering how frequently I've been updating/am planning to update, I think I can be forgiven.

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Remus had nearly paced a hole in the carpet by the time they made it back, an half-hour after curfew.

"I can't believe this, first day back and I've already lost someone!" Remus cried, twisting his hands anxiously as James and Sirius tried to calm him (Peter had gone off to bed shortly after they'd gone out to find Faye).

"I'm sure it'll be fine, he can't have gotten _that _lost on his first night! He's probably just . . ." James flapped his hands vaguely, "wandering about, somewhere." he finished lamely.

"Wandering about? _Wandering about? _He's likely been eaten by a broom cupboard!" Sirius tried to stifle his laugh but couldn't hold back a suspicious snort at this.

"And you!" Remus suddenly rounded on Sirius. "You - you just - Aargh!" Remus clutched his head. They were mostly alone in the common room; the rest of the house had fallen dead asleep into bed after the excitement of the first day back, even the night owls had retired to their dorms to sort themselves out for the coming term.

James sighed, running a tired hand through his messy hair. "Well, we can't very well do anything about it now." He took the cloak from Sirius, who was trying to stave of Moony's rabid accusations of pig-headedness and general idiocy, before turning towards their dorm room and starting up the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Remus practically screeched as he came tearing after him up the stairs.

"We have to tell someone, and I think it might be wise to put away the invisibility cloak that nobody else can know about before going to have our heads bitten off by the Dragoness of Gryffindor house." James shuddered as he entered their room, imagining the lecture they had coming their way for _losing _their new roommate before the first day of classes. Dear Minnie was harsh at even the best of times, and now was certainly not the best of times.

James sighed to himself as he glanced longingly at his bed, and the sleeping form of Peter (he always forgot to draw his curtains) just a few beds over. Actually, a few more beds over than was usual . . . James counted and realized the new boy must've been placed between Sirius and himself. Odd, though, that the curtains would be drawn. They were usually left open, until the students returned and drew them closed for a little privacy as they slept. An idea dawning in his head, James crept forward and carefully pulled back the curtains of the new bed beside his. And there, curled on his side with his clothes still on, glasses crooked on his nose, and his giant, ancient tome still lying open beside him was Harry Faye.

"I don't _believe_ this," he moaned aloud, interrupting Remus who had been irritably berating Sirius the since they'd left the common room.

"What, what is it?" Remus snapped. James suddenly realized why he had been so on edge all evening; in addition to all the stressors of getting back to school, a new term, new responsibilities, new roommate etc., the full moon was only a little over a week away. James winced in sympathy for all Remus was dealing with, before turning back to the situation at hand.

"Look." He gestured to the bed and held the curtains back so Remus and Sirius could see what he was moaning about.

"He must've been here the whole time!" Sirius growled, furious that he'd wasted so much time looking for something that was right under their noses right from the beginning.

Remus just stared for a moment before turning away, grumbling. "Well, I'm off to bed now."

Sirius just continued to stare down at the new kid as Remus began his nighttime ritual, while James just kicked off his shoes and folded his glasses on the bedside table before falling into bed, still fully clothed. After a moment he made to turn away, but at the last second reached over and gently tugged the book out from under Faye's hand, slid his glasses off his nose, and pulled the blankets a little higher.

Just as Sirius was about to head off to bed himself, emerald eyes flickered to life and a thin, pale hand reached out and brushed against his own, lighter than a breath.

"Sirius," Harry Faye mumbled, recognition bright and sorrowful crossing his face until he rolled away, burrowing back under the covers and closing his eyes once again.

Sirius just shivered. He may not recognize the new boy, but he certainly recognized Sirius. And as much as Sirius could've sworn he'd never met him before in his life, something was whispering in his ear that he was wrong.

* * *

I'm sorry, I honestly have no idea where I'm going with any of this. If it turns out odd, just leave it. It's a bit creepy and a bit cool at the same time, seeing people reading this and commenting on it. Thanks all, and to the Anon, I just like to either keep things canon or come out and be completely AU about it. I'm not sure which. And to all else, I appreciate your kind sentiments.

Love,

MC^2

P.S. - Should I name the chapters? I know that personally I always prefer the chapters to be named, especially if it's something fun or clever or helps me ID each of the chapters in case I want to return to/skip ahead to a specific plot piece, but I can't for the life of me decide how to name them.

P.P.S. - Should I include next chapter previews? I also like those, but I've been writing this completely on the fly, so that might be a problem *laughs*. It would be awkward if I outlined some great adventure in the preview and then they just went to Herbology class or something.


	4. Harry wakes up like a Nutter

Disclaimer: Not mine

P.S. - thanks to all for the reviews and general feedback, I would address you more directly but I am writing this from my phone and having a very hard time of it. Please ignore all blatant mistakes and check back in a day or so; hopefully they'll all be fixed by then. Enjoy!

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Harry was very warm, though not very comfortable. He realized he must've fallen asleep fully clothed, though he couldn't imagine why as Ginny would never have stood for it. She hated it when he fell into bed with his clothes still on, and always made him go and get undressed, no matter if he'd been at work for more than 20 hours and it was three in the morning and all he wanted was to sleep. (To be honest, he hated sleeping in his clothing and despite his grumblings to the contrary, he was always glad for her insistence when morning came round).

He felt reached out, and didn't feel Ginny in bed with him. She must've decided to let him sleep in a bit. He rolled over to where her pillow would be, so he could smell her scent and get back to sleeping, but apparently her pillow (not to mention the entire left side of the bed) had gone on an adventure without him, because he managed to roll right over the side of the bed and onto the floor where he landed on the sparse rug with a bone-jarring _thump_.

He moaned pitifully and clambered to his feet, determined to find some coffee somewhere.

"This is quite nice, actually, having someone who can actually wake up on their own for once." Harry jumped and spun around at the unfamiliar voice, reaching for his wand and readying himself to give physical resistance when he couldn't find it.

"Relax," the voice chided, suddenly sounding a lot less unfamiliar. "Professor?" Harry enquired, by this point now thoroughly confused.

The voice laughed. "No, I don't think we've met yet, and in any case I'm certainly not a professor." The blurry figure came forward, and Harry flinched as it extended its hand.

"Calm down, I don't bite." the figure winced at this for some reason unknown to Harry. Though if he were the professor that would make some small amount of sense . . .

"Anyways, I'm Remus, Remus Lupin. Nice to meet you." Harry stared, then squinted, trying to assess who it was before him and why they would make up such an obvious lie, to him of all people - Oh.

Harry brought a hand to his head and staggered back, sitting heavily on his bed when the frame met the back of his knees. He scrabbled for his glasses, slightly panicking when they weren't on his person or in the bed, and Remus (if it really was him) held something out to him. His glasses.

Harry took them and slid them on his nose, and a young man's face focused in sharp detail before him. He looked - not like Remus. Harry frowned, but then suddenly little similarities came out, the warm brown eyes, the tawny head of hair that already had a few strands of grey unseen to all except those who expected them. The shape of the nose, the eyebrows. The way they were drawn up in concern, even for a supposed stranger.

Harry let out a shaky sigh before carefully lowering his gaze. Teddy really didn't take after him much, either of them really. More after his namesake, surprisingly. Harry offered his hand, keeping his eyes on his knees.

"Harry Faye," he said shortly, his voice low. He didn't trust himself to not make a scene, to not leap up and hug the life out of Remus. To not burst into tears.

Remus quietly took his hand and then moved away, but Harry could feel the concern coming off of him in waves, warm and familiar and soothing and - hard. This was going to be very hard. Harry couldn't believe this was happening. He'd realized about a month into his stint in the 70s, while reading the paper aloud for Ms. Faye (or Clara, as she liked to be called), that _they'd _be there. He just hadn't really done the math on it. He hadn't known exactly how old his parents had been, or what year they'd graduated from Hogwarts, so he hadn't thought on it.

Harry sighed and flopped back onto the bed. He'd have protested being placed in fifth year, when really he was sixteen (at least physically) if he'd known. He'd not bothered because he figured it wouldn't matter, he just needed to have access to their library, which Dumbledore'd been happy to grant him. Dumbledore had, however, insisted that he couldn't more than fifteen at the most, and as Harry didn't technically exist - yet - and therefore couldn't prove he'd taken his O.W.L.s, he'd conceded the point.

Harry reached up and knuckled his eyes, dislodging his glasses in the process. He acknowledged the moisture there with a dark chuckle. He was laughing at himself - he was losing it. He was completely _losing _it, and he hadn't even had to face Sirius yet. What was he going to do?

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Sorry again for the shortness. Considering that this was my second update today, and that I completed this on/posted this from my phone (which is very difficult and frustrating by the way, I wouldn't recommend it) I think I could be forgiven.

Love,

MC^2


	5. Family Issues

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

Thanks again for all the feedback, I might start naming the chapters soon!

(**P.S.** does anyone else find exclamation points really creepy? I'm really stony-faced in real life so I feel kind of gross using them. Like an creepy old man going to the local primary school and playing with the dollies.)

(**P.P.S.** - does it bother anyone else that 'wrists' and 'dolls' is the same word in Spanish? Or that it's very difficult to distinguish if someone is saying 'terrace' or 'terrorist' when speaking with and American accent? I'd much rather eat desserts on a terrace than a terrorist. I can't take the insanity of language.)

(**P.S.P.S.** - there is a possible plot-spoiler at the end of this chapter, I'll bold something so you don't accidentally read it if you don't want to. It's not like a next chapter review or something, I'm trying to figure out I'll eventually end up with this. By the by, thank you to all, specifically RandomAsRainbows for the feedback. I have to go now because I think the creature from _Alien_ is hiding out in my radiator and I may have to go kill it in a moment.)

In case you hadn't noticed, I don't sleep much. It does funny things to me.

** Oh, this chapter is a little longer than usual . . . **

* * *

Remus frowned down at his transfiguration's text. His encounter with the new boy had been . . . interesting, to say the least. He wasn't really sure what he'd been expecting from the seemingly shy, head-in-the-clouds roommate that'd been introduced to the school the night before, but it definitely wasn't what he'd gotten.

The kid had looked about ready to kill him when he first spoke to him this morning. And not in the whole 'oh I can't believe you just woke me up I'm going to go die until it's a reasonable hour and _then_ I'm going to come and kill you.' No, there was a definite danger to Remus in that moment until the kid seemed to remember where (and maybe even _who) _he was. Then once he got his glasses back on his face, and glanced over Remus with a distressed look on his face, he'd retreated into himself, becoming the shy kid Remus had expected in the first place. He'd been in the shower ever since.

Remus checked the clock on the wall, it wasn't time for everyone to start getting up quite yet, but he figured he might as well get his shower now, before the rest of them woke and it was a scramble to get to the shower stall that didn't always look as if something had gotten trapped in the drain and died there (courtesy of Sirius and his long hair). He stepped into the shower area, and for a second, with his hair darkened and swept back from his face by water and his eyes closed shut as he toweled off his body, Harry Faye looked like a miniature James.

Harry dried his fluffy, light brown hair, and opened his brilliant green, almond-shaped eyes that were somehow _very_ familiar, and the moment passed. Remus let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and backed silently out of the room. Looked like he wasn't the only one with a new mini-me. He had no idea what to make of any of this - and that was _without_ the scars that covered the new boy, almost as many as Remus himself had.

* * *

Harry made his way down to breakfast early, and pulled out a new book. He'd been researching how to get home since the second he reached this time period. He didn't want to mess something up and never see his kid again, or accidentally make it so he or any of his friends would never be born. that would be . . . weird, and awful. He wouldn't do it on purpose of course, but it would feel like he was _killing_ them or something. Harry didn't want to think about that.

He'd been avoiding the rest of his roommates so far, making it a point to sit amidst a group of under-year girls at the Gryffindor breakfast table, ignoring their stares and occasional giggles as he picked at a soft boiled egg around his giant book. He nodded to McGonagall when she gave him his schedule and got a rare smile in return. He looked away, he couldn't take the pity in her eyes. He'd seen that look often enough, after the war, and he could barely stand it anymore. He was even known at his workplace for occasionally telling people off for looking at him like that. Or if they develop some sort of creepy hero-worship.

Harry frowned down at his schedule. This was what he was dreading - out of class, he knew the castle probably better than anyone, and could easily avoid those he had a hard time seeing. But in classes, they were grouped by house and year. He'd have no choice but to interact with everyone - Remus, Sirius, his father, his _mother_. Peter. Harry shuddered and shouldered his bag, heading to their first class - Potions. He was actually looking forward to it somewhat; the class was mixed Hufflepuff and Gryffindor - and as he'd discovered his sixth year, potions was actually somewhat enjoyable when he wasn't surrounded by people who hated his guts. A bit like cooking, really, which he'd taken over for their little family due to his experience with the Dursley's and Ginny's lack of retention from her own mother's lessons.

Harry reached the classroom and sidled in, sitting front and center, hoping to offset any attempts that marauders might make to sit beside him. He also hoped that his mother would simply have friends to sit with and wouldn't feel the need to take pity on the new kid and come sit with him. He cracked open his book and blanked out, forgetting where he was until suddenly the doors slammed open and kids streamed into the room.

Harry jerked up from his text, glancing around warily before relaxing minutely. Thankfully everyone he knew sat far away, and he managed to be so thoroughly _average_ that good ol' Slughorn barely took notice of him. No, his morning actually went quite well in his opinion. And then he had transfigurations.

* * *

Harry tried to get to class early, but they were splitting with the Ravenclaws, who apparently had their first period class located closer to the Transfigurations room. By the time he got there, nearly the entire front half of the classroom was full up, and despite his best maneuvering, Harry somehow ended up sitting right next to Sirius.

He tried to blandly introduce himself, let that be that, but Sirius wasn't willing to let it drop. Harry pulled his Transfigurations text out and tried to ignore him, but Sirius kept asking about where he was from and why he was at Hogwarts now and what was his favorite colour and why he liked reading so much . . . it was like talking to a bloody five-year-old. Harry was actually somewhat relieved. This Sirius was so different, so much _happier_ than his Sirius. It was hard to draw the connection between the two.

Thankfully McGonagall came in fairly soon and distracted Sirius, giving them lecture and an assignment right off the bat. Harry let his mind wander throughout the lesson. He'd learned all this and more a while back, and had used a lot of it almost daily. He didn't need to pay attention, really, and besides what did it matter if he was failing in this time period anyways? He just needed access to the library.

Suddenly there was a change in the noises around him, and Harry realized they'd been given something to practice in class. Harry sighed, transfigured the tiny white mouse on his desk into a fluffy orange kitten, and then pulled his book back out. Sirius, however, finished his transfiguration nearly as quickly (which Harry thought was rather unfair) and then turned back to Harry.

"So, what's your favorite food?" Harry pursed his lips, considering the question in spite of himself. He pretty much liked Molly Weasley's cooking. Not always fancy, but he suspected that you could taste the love put into it. Love made everything taste better, Harry decided.

"Fine then, favorite dessert?" Oh, that one was easy-

"Treacle tart," Harry answered before he even realized he was going to speak. Sirius's face lit up, and Harry blanched. It was so easy to make him happy, and what was the harm in answering a few questions? He'd have done anything to see his Sirius look like that, and this one was barely asking for anything . . .

"Favorite candy?" Sirius said hopefully. Harry allowed a small smile.

"I used to really like chocolate, but nowadays I feel sick if I eat too much." It was true; once Harry'd gotten past the whole 'I'm a teenage boy and must consume everything' stage of his life, he'd found that certain richer foods made him feel ill if he pushed it. Was a right pain in the arse, to get yourself a slice of pie and then figure out two bites in that if you finished it, you'd sick up. "So meat, I guess?" he concluded with a laugh. He'd also recently discovered that he really liked meat. _Really.__  
_

Sirius laughed at this, before he said the one thing Harry'd been hoping he wouldn't.

"I'd really like to meet the people who made you. What's your family like?"

* * *

Sirius was glad, he'd finally gotten the new boy to open up some, and once he did it was great. His face was so expressive, and his hands swooped like birds as he spoke. His eyes lit up, his laugh was great. He somehow reminded Sirius of a cuter version of James, or maybe himself. _He'd definitely be the darling of the family,_ Sirius decided. How could he not be? Sure he was a little stony at first, but he probably wasn't like that with people he was comfortable with. Look how much he'd opened up with just a little prodding? Sirius grinned. This was great, he was worried he'd be weird or annoying, but instead it was really . . . comfortable. Something about Harry Faye made Sirius relax like he hadn't since last school year, before Christmas break, when things had really started to go south with his own family . . . He wanted to hear about Harry's family, they were probably great. Look at the kid they'd made!

As soon as he said he said anything though, he immediately regretted it. Harry's face fell, and he looked away. Sirius tried to comfort him, not really sure what exactly was going on between Harry and his family, but to his horror, Harry's face crumpled at his attempts, tears welling up in his emerald green eyes. Sirius wasn't sure what to do at that point, but he remembered when James's uncle had died last year in a death eater attack. James had been really close to him, and when he found out he'd been really down for a long time; he'd broken down in sobs and Sirius had awkwardly held him until he started to calm down, but it seemed to work.

Unfortunately as soon as Sirius put a hand on his shoulder, Harry began choking back sobs. Sirius was at a loss as to what to do, when Professor McGonagall spotted them and hurried over. To Sirius's surprise, she didn't ask any questions and immediately wrote Harry a pass and dismissed him from class, despite the fact that they had well over an half-hour left of class.

"I'll inform your next teacher as well," she added softly as Harry quickly packed up his belongings and scrambled to exit the room. Sirius stared after him, and at the look of pity on McGonagall's face, before turning to exchange looks with the his friends sitting just behind him. Peter and James looked just as confused as Sirius felt, but Remus looked scandalized.

"What did you do to him?" Remus hissed at Sirius. Sirius turned back to the seat that had been occupied by Harry Faye only moments before, and gulped.

"I honestly have no idea."

* * *

**A/N: **Does anyone even know what the 'A/N' stands for, anyway? It makes me think of anchan - which as far as I'm concerned isn't a word - but which in turn makes me think of food.

So, anything from previous chapters stands, let me know if anything was exceptionally confusing or in particular need of further explanation.

***THIS IS YOUR WARNING* **I can't decide where I should go with this . . . if you have any questions/requests, let me know. I'm kind of wavering between him finding a way back or being like 'oh shit I'm in an alternate universe, I'm not really me, the real me is back with my wife in realworld-verse' and then, you know. . . obviously if you can't get back, you have no choice but to fix things for the better and get it on with someone there. Go all slash, you know.

Love,

MC^2


	6. Crying Sucks

**Disclaimer:** Not mine

First off, sorry it's been so long. Long story short . . . Ach, who am I kidding. I know my reasons, and you all honestly don't care, as long as you're getting your updates again. (In the end, I'm just glad that you all have yet to revert to vicious means in order to get an update from me).

By the by, if anyone thinks Harry seems a bit . . . _**overly emotional** _- I am purposefully having his reactions exaggerated, in accordance to his lack of sleep. I went to a prestigious prep school where eating and sleeping took a back seat to studying and homework and extracurriculars. Believe me, (and pardon my french) some people get really fucked up when they don't sleep. There once was a kid who cried over the false death of Bill Nye the science guy (as advertised in the online article from the American newspaper _The Onion_), and another who drank an energy drink, and ran about the common room screaming like an idiot before puking spectacularly and passing out. Then there was that one time the seniors _**saran wrapped** **the passageway**_ between the science hall and the library so that no one could pass through without army crawling . . .

Anyways, to get to the point, people get weird under copious amounts of stress in close proximity with with severe lack of sleep. **If anyone wants to share their own personal stress-funtime story, feel free to let me know!**

**To missingnin0x0:** completely with you all the way. My family is convinced I was born a crotchety old man. I'm bending a bit towards your suggestion.

**To Anon:** I'm not sure slash would enter the picture, I often find it highly awkward unless done well, which I'm not sure I trust myself to accomplish. I am however considering the possibility that only a piece of Harry has been moved to this other timeline - As in, he himself is still with his family and this piece of him, or replica of him, is trapped elsewhere w/o any say in the matter. I am still undecided as to which direction this will travel, however.

**To Stromsten**: Much the same to you; slash is not highly likely at this moment, but he may be doomed to this timeline or something, as I said to Anon. I'm not sure where I'm going with this at all to be honest, this is mostly being written at three in the morning when I can barely see straight, let alone use very specifically circular vs linear thinking - more just some weird mesh of the both of them.

**To Allyieh:** Yeah, I could see how that would be. But parents are supposed to love their kids more than anything, right? And while Sirius and Harry were never particularly close, they certainly had strong feelings for each other - I mean, Sirius saw him as a surrogate son/reflection of James, who was his best friend. And Harry'd never had anyone to be his parent before, and that's a powerful thing, to have someone who you believe will love you and take care of you because you are _you_, and not anyone else. That's just how I see it. I've also seen stories where the magical godparents are bonded, making them more relevant in the lives of their godchildren than in the real world (honestly, all I remember of my godmother was a present that she brought me as a three-year old. Not even her name.)

* * *

After transfigurations, the four friends made their way to DADA class, keeping an eye out for their new roommate.

"I don't think he'll be coming to this class either," Sirius said quietly. He felt awful about whatever it was he supposedly did to the new boy, even if he couldn't quite recall anything he'd actually done wrong. The dirty looks Remus kept tossing his way made him feel like he had, though.

Remus glared at him for a moment longer, then nodded thoughtfully. "McGonagall was acting very strangely, earlier."

James agreed. "You know what? She seemed . . . unsurprised. Sad, sure, but not really like this was entirely unexpected."

Sirius glanced anxiously at the both of them before returning his attention to his shoelaces. "I think it might be his family. I was asking him about them and he just kind of -" Sirius made some sort of vague, fluttering hand motion. "I don't know. It just . . . remember Samuel Midgen? From the year above?"

They fell silent. It was hard not to remember - Sammy Midgen was huge - really tall, really muscular. But he was one of the nicest guys around, everyone liked him - he was always just happy about something and glad to cheer someone else up when they needed it. Then his mum (a muggle) and little sister got killed in a death eater attack the year before she started at Hogwarts. He _changed _after that. Snapping at people all the time, cutting himself off. He stopped doing his work for classes, but no one said anything. The professors acted the same way around him as they did around Harry Faye.

Remus was the one to break the silence. "Let's just go to class," he said gruffly, pushing his way past the rest of them and taking off down the corridor towards their DADA classroom at a brisk pace.

The three remaining friends exchanged looks before following after him. Remus let things like this get to him. He was just more sensitive to other people; he was always worrying about someone or something, and it looked like he'd latched on to the new boy fairly quickly.

Sirius sighed to himself. This new kid was turning out to be a lot more trouble than he looked like.

* * *

Harry fled back to the tower, grateful that the halls were mostly empty since the majority of the castle was either in their classes or in their common room. He hated the attention he always managed to attract, no matter who or where or apparently even _when_ he was. Harry skirted around the few upper years still straggling in the common room, waiting for the next period to begin, and flung his book bag to the floor of his dorm room.

Now that he was alone, and had managed to calm down a fair amount, Harry was feeling rather angry with himself, not to mention mortified at his reaction. He shouldn't have lost it like that, now they were all going to think he was crazy. Or worse, pester him about it and hover around, trying not to upset him. He'd thought he'd be fine, if only he hadn't given in to Sirius like that . . . and when Sirius had asked about his family, he completely lost it. Then he'd tried to comfort him, and he just kept remembering the old Sirius and everything came crashing down and - Harry sighed. He'd been forcing himself to stay awake, researching how to get back constantly. He knew it was bad, but he couldn't help it. He barely ate, he barely slept, his emotions had been strung high since he'd been forced here, thanks to the stressful situation he'd been put in. _Not to mention all the hormones I suddenly have to deal with all over again. _Harry snorted quietly to himself at his rotten luck - going through puberty twice, let alone his situation.

He groaned and flopped himself down on his bed. He missed Ginny. He missed Ginny and James and Teddy, and Ron and Hermione and their kids, and George and Fred junior, and all the Weasleys, and his friends from work and _God he was just wanted to go home and **be** with his family -_ Harry whipped off his glasses and placed his forearm over damp eyes. He lay there, wallowing in his memories until finally his body gave in to what he'd been denying it for weeks and he fell asleep.

* * *

Remus frowned when Harry didn't come down to lunch. _That kid needs to eat more,_ Remus thought to himself before grimacing. He wasn't exactly a great example at the moment; with the full moon approaching, nearly everything made him queasy.

Sirius on the other hand, had piled his plate to full capacity before snagging another from the empty seat next to him in order to catch the overflow. Remus had been trying to explain for years that the food wasn't going to go anywhere before the end of the meal, but Sirius had decided long ago that it was always better to be safe than sorry.

Remus wrinkled his nose at the boy stuffing his face beside him. It peeved him that Sirius acted as if he didn't even have the basic manners of a human being, especially when he'd been raised to interact with the cream of the crop of the wizarding world.

"You know what? I'm not hungry." Remus said shortly as he stood. "I'm going to go get our books for the rest of the day." He grabbed his bag from the bench and swung it over his shoulder before stalking off towards the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Wha's 'is prollem?" Sirius managed around a mouthful of, well, generally everything within reach of his fork.

James shrugged. "Full moon approaching," he added quietly under his breath. The three friends nodded and fell to silence. They had learned certain things about one another over the past four years having been close friends and having lived in close quarters for the majority of the year, and rule number one was one of the most important - know when to let Moony be.

* * *

Remus slowly made his way up to the common room, grateful for the quiet. It was empty, as was the dorm room. He had just begun ferreting through his trunk to find the books he'd bought over the summer when a soft moan, followed closely by a whistling sigh alerted him to Faye's presence in the dorm.

Remus came to stand by the boy's bed. He was curled defensively, one arm cradling his head and the other wrapped protectively across his stomach, breathing softly as he slept. He almost looked dead. _He must've just come up here and fallen asleep after what happened in class, _Remus speculated. Not that he blamed the boy, he'd have done the same.

The new boy was obviously sleep deprived; his face was pale and drawn, and anyone could see the unhealthy dark circles under his eyes, which the thin silver wire frames of his glasses did nothing to hide. The glasses in question were currently laying on the bed beside the new boy, in danger of being squashed should he roll over in his sleep. Remus plucked them up and folded them carefully, placing them on the bedside table. He was just about to back out quietly when Faye sat up abruptly, gasping for air and nearly flipping himself out of bed in the process. _Does he always wake up this violently?_ Remus wondered to himself as the boy steadied himself.

Faye swallowed thickly, looking like he was about to be sick. "Are you alright?" Remus asked as softly as possible, remembering that morning.

"Ginny?" Faye asked, his voice breathy and hoarse. "Gin, I swear, I've just had the most awful dream, I was with my parents, and everyone was still alive, they were all so young. And old Snuffles! He was there, he was so happy . . . "

Remus hated to break Harry off like this, but if he thought that he was talking to someone else . . . Remus just couldn't bring himself to intrude like that. He broke in with a nervous chuckle, and could tell he'd made the right decision by the way Harry stopped and stared at him, his green eyes wide and glassy with grief.

"Wow, your eyesight must be really awful, if you take me for a girl. Unless she's as bony as I am," Remus threw out. It sounded odd and hollow to his own ears. "James's the same, this one time, we were hiding from Filch, because we'd spello-taped Mrs Norris - Oh! You wouldn't know her, or him either I guess . . ." Remus trailed off from his nervous rambling as Harry scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve, his head ducked so that all Remus could see was the fluffy top of his head.

". . . Are you alright?" Remus questioned hesitantly, immediately giving himself a mental smack after he said it. _Of course he's not, you dolt, this is the second time he's cried today, obviously something's wrong. _But apparently that was all Harry needed to hear because he cut in on Remus's mental berating.

"I just . . . I just really really miss them all, you know?" he got out around the small, sobbing gasps. "I never had a real family, I mean I stayed with my Aunt and Uncle and cousin, but they hated my guts, they never wanted me. And then I finally made my own family, and now they're just gone! And I'm never gonna see them again, not Ginny or Jamie or Ro-" He choked a little. "I just wanna go home, and I can't! I feel like I have no control over my life!" He was breathing heavily now, his face still buried in his hands.

"Sorry," he said suddenly, giving Remus a small, watery smile as he looked up. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower . . ." he trailed off, looking dazed.

"No, no! I mean, I don't mind listening, you know. You can talk to me if you want to." Remus interjected quickly. He didn't want Harry to feel like he couldn't talk to them. Harry just shrugged in response before getting up and stretching. He walked briskly past Remus to the bathroom, and Remus sighed. He knew what it was like to keep yourself all bottled up, and it never ended well for anyone. He was about to give up for the moment and make his way back down to the hall to sort out their books before lunch ended when Harry called back to him from the bathroom door.

"Remus? Thanks," Harry gave Remus another grin, and somehow this one felt more real than all the others he'd seen so far.

Remus smiled back. "Anytime, Harry."

* * *

Guess that's it . . . Let me know if anything's blatantly wrong or offensive. I'll try not to fall off the map again.

MC^2


	7. Getting Somewhere

Disclaimer: Not mine.

* * *

After his talk with Remus, (more specifically, his slip-up), Harry made even more of an effort to avoid the marauders and those he recognized from his own time. He wolfed down his meals, when he bothered with them, he spent all his free time in the library, he showed up to every class just as the bell rang. He avoided the common room during the day, and their dorm in the evening. He studiously ignored the marauders, and his mother, and Frank and Alice (soon to be) Longbottom, from seventh year, and the faces of future Death Eaters he recognized as he passed them in the halls.

He was making progress in his research, he was avoiding trouble in class (for the most part), and his plan seemed to be working brilliantly - so, of course, Sirius had to go ruin it all.

* * *

Sirius scowled down at his transfigurations text, ignoring the concerned glances Moony kept sending his way. He'd noticed that Faye had been avoiding him for the better part of a week. Not that he blamed him, he had made the boy cry after all (even he wasn't sure what exactly he'd done wrong). Sirius, in turn, decided to begin stalk- ahem, _seeking the boy's company_ - every chance he got. Which, as they had all the same classes, and shared both a dorm and a common room, really was turning out to be much more difficult than it should have been.

In fact, Faye seemed to be almost preternaturally sly. He managed to slip into the backs of classrooms just after the bell without reprimand, and out again the same way. He managed to sneak into the dorm after they'd gone to bed every night without waking any of them, and was mostly ready by the time Remus, the earliest riser out of the four marauders was awake. He'd be already down the stairs to the common room by the time Sirius woke up.

Faye was particularly sneaky during mealtimes - usually in and out before Sirius noticed him, Faye had become very adept at finding foods he could easily wrap in a few napkins and take back out with him. By the time Sirius managed to find him in the Hall, Faye was able to mumble some nonsense about some paper or other and scurry off to the library, apple and sandwich in hand.

This left Sirius with only one option - he'd have to corner Faye in the library. He nodded to himself, satisfied with his plan, and studiously ignored Remus' strange look as he put away his transfigurations text and turned his attention to more important things, like playing exploding snap.

* * *

Harry had just settled into his corner of the library (the large, squashy armchair beside the shelf of texts on all outlawed forms of magical travel - time and dimension included) when he heard the beginnings of a whispered argument a few rows over. He'd just decided to ignore whatever sort of lovers' spat the two were obviously having, when he recognized the voices.

"Sirius, I'm not going to sniff him out like a blood hound. If he wants to be left alone, leave him be. I'm sure he's just homesick. He'll settle in eventually."

"That's just it, I don't think he is! He doesn't sleep, he doesn't speak to anyone, and he's been dodging me since I made him cry, I'm sure of it."

"You _do _realize that not eveything is about you, correct? Maybe he's just quiet."

"He's been avoiding me! I can tell."

"Well, you _are_ rather obnoxious -"

"Moony! Be serious!"

"_I _can't be Sirius, you're -" "Shut up. If it's not funny when I tell it, what makes you think you'd do any better?"

Harry sighed and began packing up his things. He'd had a splitting headache since lunch and had begun to feel sick with all the fumes in the humid Potions room last period, and couldn't really be arsed to try and deal with Sirius today if he could avoid it.

He'd just started to think he was home free when Sirius noticed him slipping past.

"Oi, Faye!" He called, catching up to Harry in a few strides as Remus scurried after him, hissing "_Sirius! _We are in the _library!_"

Sirius gave a half-apologetic grin to the studiers scowling at him before following Harry out of the maze of shelves to the front desk.

"I'd like to check these out please." Ms. Pince gave Harry a rare, thin-lipped smile as she signed out his books - she'd probably seen more of him in the past week than she saw of most students in a year. "Just remember to have the last set back in before next week, dear." Harry gave her a slight smile and nodded before exiting the library, Sirius hot on his heels (if gaping at the familiarity between Harry and Hogwart's vulture of a librarian).

"Hey, Faye!" Sirius paused to snicker at the unintentional rhyme, causing Harry to roll his eyes. He was fairly certain he'd never been _that _much of an idiot, when he was that age the first time around.

"Ahem. I, er, wanted to talk to you." Sirius grinned brightly, easily keeping up with Harry as he struggled to stuff the library books into his already overflowing bag. Remus followed quietly behind them as they made there way down the hall, worried about leaving them alone but not quite having the energy to attempt to deter Sirius from his rampage while there was still a chance Sirius wouldn't completely steamroll Faye.

"Why?" Harry snapped out tersely. His head was beginning to pound viciously as he lengthened his stride in a vain attempt to get rid of Sirius.

Sirius seemed a little taken aback. "Well . . ." He scratched his head. He hadn't really planned much besides cornering Faye.

Harry halted suddenly and whirled around to face Sirius. "_'Well'_ what? Either get on with it or stop wasting my time!" The pounding had turned into a sharp throb in his temples and just behind his eyes, making him feel ill. Sirius had just opened his mouth to respond when there was a clatter of footsteps from the other end of the hall. Harry looked past Sirius to see James and Peter approaching at full speed.

"_Run!_" James hissed as loud as he dared. "Filch!"

Sirius' and Remus' eyes widened comically at the exact same moment, and Harry fought the sudden, overwhelming urge to burst into a fit of mad giggles. This was fortunately cut off by Sirius grabbing him round the collar to haul him off with the four marauders as they ran pell-mell down the hall. Harry was practically dragged for a few moments before he managed to right himself and smack Sirius' hand away from his throat, though it quickly grasped his elbow instead and he was pulled along regardless.

"Why do I have to run?" He gasped out angrily. "_I _haven't done anything!" Sirius smirked, as well as one could smirk when running for one's life (or at the very least, to escape detention).

"I'm not letting you escape! I still have to find out why you're avoiding me!" He managed around his panting. Somewhere in the back of his mind, hidden beneath the pain in his head and the growing urge to be sick, Harry was vaguely impressed that Sirius was keeping up with the others while half-dragging both Harry and his forty pound book bag.

They came to a sudden halt halfway up a staircase that began to move the moment they stepped up. "I think . . . we managed . . . to lose him!" James gasped out before his victorious grin gave way to confusion as he spotted Harry, bent double with the weight of his book bag while he attempted to catch his breath. "No offence . . . but when . . . did you get here?" Harry glared up at him through his sweaty fringe, before thumbing at Sirius, who had a very self-satisfied smirk slapped across his face. James glanced between them for a moment before throwing his hands up in the air.

"You know what? I don't wanna know."

* * *

They were halfway back to Gryffindor tower when Harry's head gave a particularly vicious throb and he moaned in pain, bracing himself against his knees. Sirius stopped as well (having yet to relinquish his hold on Harry's elbow), and peered down at him.

"You all right, mate?" James asked with concern. Peter and Remus paused a little ways ahead of them.

"Head," Harry gasped out. He closed his eyes as another sharp throb came. "I'm going to be sick."

"You are not." Sirius said dersively, believing it to be an elaborate ploy to escape back to the library.

"Yes," Harry said decisively; it was only a matter of time at this point. "All over your shoes." Sirius rolled his eyes, but quickly jumped back when Harry heaved, clapping a hand to his mouth.

"Whoa, hey!" James jumped forward, grabbing Harry's arm and tugged him over to a nearby bathroom that Harry vaguely noted wouldn't be there in twenty years' time. James pushed him into a stall just in time for Harry to fall to his knees and be sick in the toilet. James snatched his glasses off his face before the fell in and crouched behind him, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Uhm, you're okay. I think. Yeah, you'll be fine." James murmured in an attempt to be reassuring.

Harry hovered over the bowl for a few minutes, coughing and spitting before wiping his mouth on his sleeve and resting his head on his arms, moaning softly at the vicious stabbing in his head.

"Here," came Sirius' voice, somewhat subdued. Harry flinched as something cool and wet fell across his face but soon relaxed. It felt nice.

"Remus and Peter went to go get Madame Pomfrey." Harry heard Sirius say. He sounded far-off, The bathroom turned very quiet, and Harry felt his vision darken around the edges. He barely acknowledged the damp towel sliding off his face or James' shout as Harry fell back against him. Everything was turning very dark, and cool, and it felt wonderful. His head didn't hurt as much anymore, beyond a sort of distant throbbing feeling.

Harry sank into the bliss.

* * *

**A/n:** **Sorry about that. I wanted to keep going but it didn't really fit in with this chapter. Don't worry, I have a plan for what happens next (which is more than I can say for the rest of the chapters up till now). Btw, sorry for taking so long. Just so you know, I'll feel really guilty and start writing immediately if you ask nicely for more chapters. RandomasRainbow is the one who got me to continue (I had unfortunately been away from internet etc. for a while there though, so I missed it when it came in and didn't see it until yesterday).**


	8. False Assurance

**Disclaimer: Not mine. **

* * *

_Harry . . . Harry!_

Harry snapped his eyes open. The pain in his head was gone, but he couldn't remember what had happened. He glanced around the room he was in and his brain kicked into overdrive.

He was on his bed. His bed, in his _bedroom_, in his _house_ that wouldn't be built for another 25 years or so.

"Harry?"

Harry sprang to his feet and swung around to face- "Ginny."

He launched himself forward and wrapped his arms around his wife. They sank to the floor together, grasped in each other's arms.

"Gods, Ginny, I thought I'd never see you again." Harry breathed in her scent - Earl Grey and mint and chocolate and parchment and firewood and a very, very faint hint of something flowery. He buried his nose in her hair and felt more at home than he had in months.

"Oh thank Merlin!" Ginny was saying. "Hermione said it would work but I'd never done anything like that before and you'd been gone so long we were sure you'd be dead -" Harry pulled back to look at her face.

"Wait a minute, how _did_ you find me?"

Ginny blushed brightly, like he hadn't seen her do in years. "Legilimency. Hermione told me I could use our bond to find your essence, because we've- _concieved._" Ginny stuttered as though it were something especially private or indecent to speak of. Despite her general lechery, she tended to get flustered when speaking about childbirth or the like. She glanced away in embarrassment before whipping her head back up to stare at him, finally registering his physical appearance.

"Harry! You- you-"

The grin he gave her threatened to split his face right down the middle. Nothing could kill the buzz he had gained from finally getting to see his wife after months of fruitless research.

"I know, I know. I still haven't figured out that bit. Don't worry, I'll love you even when you're old and wrinkly." He avoided the swat she aimed at his head with an ease that spoke of long years of practice. "Now what's this I hear about legilimency? How did you manage to bring me back to our time with mind arts?"

Ginny's face fell. "Oh Harry, we haven't figured out how to get you home yet, this is only in your mind. Our bond allowed me to find you, even with you being gone for so long." Harry deflated slowly, like a balloon that'd got a puncture.

"What do you mean? Aren't we in our bedroom?" Ginny suddenly smiled again, before pulling his head down to rest against her breasts and gently running her fingers through his hair. He slumped into her grip, his body relaxing completely under her tender touch.

"Is that what you see? To me, we're in my room at the burrow." She pulled back slightly, cupping his face in her hands. "In your mind, what you see is a representation of your emotional state. Right now, we're likely wherever we're most comfortable, because we're most comfortable when we're together."

He smiled slightly at that. "So Hermione?"

Ginny snorted, resting her head on his shoulder. "Obviously."

"Does she have any idea how to get me back? At all?"

"We really had no idea where we'd find you, or in what condition. Or if we'd find you at all . . ." She trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging dismally between them. "So, 'Our time'? You're temporally misplaced?" She bit her lip, thinking. "We can work with that. It's not _completely _unheard of. It'll be difficult, though. When are you, exactly."

Harry grimaced. "The seventies. Hogwarts." She arched an eyebrow.

"The library," he explained with a shrug. Ginny nodded in understanding. Hermione could be heard complaining at least once a month about the lack of good wizarding libraries - most of them were private, belonging to wealthy pureblood families with long, prestigious histories and lots of money. Hogwarts library was a rarity in the sense that it was open to anyone with reason to be there. Unfortunately, that excluded most everyone excepting students, staff, and noted scholars.

"That's really not the issue though. Professor Dumbledore let me in easily enough. All that French I learned from Fleur finally came in handy though, I've told them I'm from that school in France. You know, the one that sounds like a sneeze. It's far enough out of the way that no one questioned it, small enough that nobody bothered with my transcripts." He swallowed. "The people though . . ."

Ginny stared at him with confusion in her eyes, uncomprehending the significance of the era until - "Oh, Harry."

His lips twitched up into a small smile. "Don't worry. I haven't done anything. Besides, didn't Hermione prove that thing about the circular nature of time travel? I can't ruin anything, because anything I do has already been done." She nodded, but the worry didn't quite leave her face. Harry chose to ignore the small amount of pity he could see, lingering in the depths of her soft brown eyes.

They sat for a moment in silence, before Harry cleared his throat nervously. "Ginny - you said that you thought . . ." He let out a huge breath. "How long exactly have I been gone?" He finally said instead, peernig up at her anxiously.

She bit her lip. "Nearly two months now," She admitted.

Harry let out the breath he'd been holding and laughed, collapsing against her. "Oh thank Merlin. Ginny, you had me thinking I'd been gone years or something." She aimed another smack at him, this one managing to find it's mark.

"You've been gone forever, you arse!" He laughed even harder before calming down.

"Ginny, I've been here going on five months. You had me thinking I'd missed my son's childhood." He turned serious for a moment. "Speaking of, how's Teddy been? James is a little too young to really miss me much, but Teddy-" Ginny cut him off with a quick kiss.

"I understand, he's fine. He misses you. We all do." She sighed and her body fell against his, her forhead tapping down against his collarbone.

"Harry, come home."

"I'm trying, Ginny."

* * *

**A/n: **Too mushy?

As always, let me know if anything is too blatantly stupid.


	9. Chapter 9

WOW. I was apparently really drunk when I wrote the last chapter. I didn't think I was, and I don't get hangovers, but I looked back on it just now . . . I'll probably rewrite it later.

Anyways, this was just a heads up in regards to that. I should have the next chapter up by tomorrow, 4/30. It may not be entirely cohesive with the last chapter, but I haven't yet had a chance to rewrite it and I figured you'd all prefer it if I just went ahead and moved forward instead of trying to make sense of my own drunken ramble. It should work out fine though. I hope.


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